The Shadow of Mononokean
by revenanttrickster
Summary: A story of mysterious beings known as youkais, demons and spirits and the Mononokean Master, who guides them back to the Underworld and his fateful meeting with a normal (or maybe not) human named Kise Ryouta.
**Pairing:** None | Gen

 **A/N:** I started reading **Fukigen na Mononokean** a month ago and then this fic was born. I highly recommend this manga, it's light and funny. Plus, it's getting an anime this July! Yay! Please watch it!

* * *

 **Chapter 1: The Mononokean Master  
**

* * *

Kise Ryouta is a first year student in Teikou High School and works as a model because of his good looks, is athletic and helps out sports club when he has time (which doesn't often happen), has an above average grades [←an exaggeration] and overall a cheerful (and arrogant) person. Some could say he has everything and he's happy with his life.

That is until—

 _This fuzzy ball of fur clung onto me!_ Kise finished his internal monologue. Staggering on his feet like a drunkard, he squats down and buries his face onto his arms as he heaves a tired sigh. He can even muster any strength to yell out his frustration and the fluff of black fur with its close eyes and three mini tails on its back—creature or whatever—settles itself onto his blond hair.

He doesn't believe in ghosts and youkai but he's a 100% sure this monster latching onto him is one. How did he get into this mess again?

Oh yeah, it was because he wanted to do a good deed. It happened that night when he stepped onto this creature (he actually thought it was a stuff toy at first) while coming back home from a photo shoot and picked it up, placing it on the side and even leaving his signed photobook for its owner. He didn't know that one action would snowball to him being possessed by a youkai. If he knew this would happen then he should have just ignored it!

And what's worse is that no one aside from him can see this furry thing. He can't even slap or punch this monster except in private. He tried removing it to no avail or more like it keeps running all over his body whenever he tries. And to top it all off, it keeps getting bigger while he loses his strength so obviously it's sucking energy off him or something. At this rate, he won't live past his birthday.

 _I don't wanna die yet! Someone help!_

Kise stands up and almost pukes as his vision gets hazy. His last vision was his schoolmates crowding him as his body sways forward and blackness swallows him whole.

ーーモノノケ庵の影ーー

Kise startles awake and hastily catch the ice pack on his forehead. His eyes wandering around and finally notices that he's in the infirmary as the school nurse swivels her chair to him, saying that he passed out at the school gate. _Again._

"This is the seventh time, Kise-kun," the nurse gently reprimands him. "I know how hectic being a model can be but don't forget that you're still a student and that you need rest. Maybe you should ask your manager or agency to give you a break?"

He already heard enough of that from his sisters and teachers so Kise tunes her out and only hums in acknowledgement as he glares at the stupid black fur ball resting on his stomach, its eyes opening a little at his attention and its tails wagging excitedly like a dog.

Dimly aware of the school nurse telling him she'll go to the faculty room and advise him to rest, Kise immediately grabs the fur ball thing as soon as he's alone. He almost shrieks in surprise when the monster cling its little feet to his arm when he moves to throw it away and proceeds to punch it instead. He abruptly flops down on the bed when the creature jumps onto his face, muffling his screams for help and _get off you monster_ or _I can't breathe_.

Pushing the fluff creature off his face with all his might, Kise's eyes widens in shock and astonishment when the monster got bigger again. _And heavy!_ he thinks helplessly as he shoves it to the side and turns over onto his stomach. Crying onto the pillow, he wonders when his life turned into a horror story and is in the middle of planning his last will when he notices an odd and colorful flyer behind a health poster.

Kise takes it off and blinks as he reads it: NOW HIRING EXORCISTS! Contact Information: 090XXXXXXXX – Kuroko.

 _Exorcists? Is this a leftover from the school festival? Or some kind of a joke?_ Kise stares at it and before he can talk himself out of it, takes out his phone from his pocket and dials the number indicated. _I don't care anymore. Whether it's a hoax or not, I'll try anything to get rid of this demon!_

" _Hello?"_

He freezes when his call connects since he thought this was a prank and no one would answer. Whatever, he's already in this situation. No point in backing out now. "Um, is this Kuroko-san?"

" _Yes, is there something you need?"_

"Uh, I saw your wanted poster in the school infirmary and…"

" _I see. So you_ saw _it. I never expected anyone to actually call."_

"Ah, yes. Anyway, you see, I have—"

" _Then, we'll conduct an interview immediately. You don't need to bring anything. No résumé is necessary."_

Wait, this person is seriously going to interview him? And this guy's acting like it's perfectly normal at that! This might be a trick but guess he has no choice but to go through with it. "Um, okay," he says, almost ends it in a question, too.

" _May I ask where you are right now?"_

"In the school infirmary," Kise answers while punching the fuzz ball nuzzling on his face.

" _Then, open the infirmary's door please."_

"Huh? Wait, that's it?"

" _You'll know soon."_

Even perplexed at the ambiguous response, Kise bids this Kuroko person's order and walks over the door (the monster unfortunately still hanging onto his back), sliding it open. He almost face-plants on the floor when instead of the school hallway he sees a four corner tatami mat tearoom with a blank scroll hanging on the wall. But what's frightening was that there's no one there!

"Please have a seat," a voice says near him and Kise shrieks (a manly shriek, mind you) in surprise when he glances down and sees an average teenager with teal colored hair and impassive eyes in the same exact shade as his hair wearing a light blue kimono with a black haori over it.

It's a reflex that Kise hastily slides the door closed and then screams again when it's opened by the teal haired guy. "Please don't close the door that hard," the guy says. "And you are in the right place. Please come in."

"A-Ah, okay," is all Kise mutters, still confuse as he warily takes one step inside and then yelps when the fuzzy thing on his back shrinks to its original size.

"Do you know that you scream a lot?" the guy comments as he motions for Kise to sit on across from him after requesting him to take off his shoes. Kise, of course, glares at the stranger for the remark. He's not _that_ loud.

As Kise inwardly questions where this tearoom came from and _was it always beside the infirmary_ , he silently watches as the teal haired guy prepares tea from him. He briefly wonders who this kid is and why he's doing this 'exorcist' business. He seems to be younger than Kise. Why isn't this kid at school? (Not like he can talk since he's been skipping school for days due to being possessed by a youkai but that's beside the point and _totally not his fault_.)

"Um, are you Kuroko-san?" Kise hesitantly asks.

"Yes, I am," the guys answers with a nod and introduces himself. "My name is Kuroko Tetsuya and I am the Master of this Mononokean. So when can you start working? This is a demanding job but I'm certain we can work out a schedule of some sort. You seem pretty strong…kind of annoying though."

 _That's right! He's supposed to interview me!_ _(And what do you mean by annoying?!)_ Kise thinks in panic. How is he going to tell him that he's not exactly applying for a job? Well, he guessed there's nothing wrong with being honest. "Sorry, Kuroko-san, but you see I actually called because I need your help," Kise explains, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Help?" Kuroko repeats. "For what?"

He points at the fur ball that keeps nuzzling to his face. "This! This fuzzy thing's possessing me for days now is causing me huge problems. I can't even go to school or work without fainting. So when I saw your notice I thought you can rid of it for me…?"

Kise trails off when Kuroko only gives him an unimpressed and cold gaze and gulps in alarm when Kuroko spoke. "I can exorcise it—"

"Really?! Thank you so much!"

"—But you have to wait for your turn. I have other customers that I need to tend to first."

"Okay!" Kise readily agrees. He can finally get rid of this monster! "How long will I have to wait?"

"At least ten days."

"That's too long!" he protests as his happiness quickly evaporates to the wind. "I'll die first!"

"Then, do something about it yourself."

Kise pouts as he acquiesces to Kuroko's offer. Would he still be alive in ten days? Maybe he really should work on his last will. Mentally, dividing the money in bank account to his family and dividing the rest of his things to his relatives and friends, Kuroko draws him out of his thoughts when he asked for his name. "Kise," he replies indolently. "I'm Kise Ryouta."

Despite knowing him in mere minutes, Kise realizes that Kuroko isn't the type to show any emotion apart from his neutral expression so when the exorcists appear surprise at hearing his name Kise quickly takes note if it.

"Kise, huh? I see," Kuroko hums, eyeing him speculatively. "Alright, I will exorcise that demon now."

"Eh? Really?" Kise is happy, ecstatic even, but he's curious as to why Kuroko changed his decision. "But why?"

Kuroko only gives him a knowing stare and if Kise saw right, a twitch of his lips hinting a tiny smile. "I changed my mind," is all he says before standing up. "Kise-kun can leave first. I'll follow after you."

"O-Okay," Kise complies even if he's a bit mystified and gets up on his feet, looking for the door only to yet again yell in shock when the door disappeared. "W-Where's the door?! It's gone Kuroko-san!"

Even without looking, Kise can sense the exasperation in Kuroko's voice. "Kise-kun is too loud. Please take the door at your feet."

Kise looks down and sees a small wooden door in the corner of the room. The door doesn't even reach his knees. Is Kuroko joking or what? He can't fit in there! And why did the door turned small anyway?

"You want me to use this thing!? It's too tiny." His protests were clearly ignored though so he has no choice but to use the small door, crouching so he can fit and instantly hold out a hand to his face and closes his eyes when an unexpected gust of wind blows on his face. He peeks and almost screams in astonishment when he recognizes where he is and shakily steps out. "Eh? What? The rooftop? But I was in the infirmary and… How did this happen?!"

Kise nearly falls down on his face in surprise when Kuroko pokes him at the back of his knees as he crawls out of the tiny door. "Please shut up Kise-kun. You're hurting my ears."

He can only stare wide-eye at Kuroko. And really, how can he be still so polite when insulting someone? "Um, Kuroko-san where are we?"

"The school rooftop, of course," Kuroko answered and blatantly disregarding Kise's panic cries of _how_ and _but the infirmary's on the first floor_.

"Stop ignoring me, Kuroko-san!" Kise whines and then covers his mouth when a sudden nausea overwhelms him. He glances behind him and screeches loud as the demon on his back grows in size, almost bigger than him and fast too until he falls to his butt with the demon's feet gripping onto him. "It grew! And it's heavy!"

"Oh, it's huge."

"Stop stating the obvious Kuroko-san! Help me get rid of this thing! I'm going to die right now at this rate! And I'm too young to die!" Kise pleads his complaints while fruitlessly kicking and punching the demon off him and only stops his tirade when he strains to stop the feeling of puking his gut out. He weakly glances at Kuroko and questions what that red-white thing the exorcists took out from his sleeve.

 _Is that a tool for exorcising? A spell or chant?_ Kise pauses in his punches when he sees Kuroko's poker face shifting to a morose look while holding the red-white thing near his face. _Kuroko-san's face looks really serious and grim. It must be a hard spell!_

It's far from what he thought though as Kise's left eye twitches in irritation when he finds out that Kuroko was only out of breath and that thing he's holding was in fact just a beach ball. (And how long is that guy going to catch his breath? He's dying here!) No, wait. He can't throw in the towel yet. Kuroko is his only hope! "Uh, Kuroko-san can you exorcise this demon with that?"

Kuroko only gives him a blank gaze. Well, blanker than usual. "What is Kise-kun talking about? It's obvious that I'm going to play with the demon using this."

His patience snaps when he hears that. "Huh?! You're seriously pissing me off now! Is that a prank because you can't exorcise this stupid demon!? Are you seriously playing with me when I'm this desperate and begging for your help!"

Kise stops his tirade when Kuroko just dribbles the beach ball in silence and he doesn't know if it's because of his dizziness or his imagination but the air around Kuroko is too stifling and oppressive that it petrifies Kise on his spot (well, he can't move anyway with the demon crushing him).

"Kise-kun has the wrong idea," Kuroko finally speaks after a few beats of uncomfortable stillness. "Kise-kun isn't the only person who thought of the same thing so I'll disregard that for now. I'll be honest, I don't particularly care if Kise-kun suffers and die. I'm not doing this for you or for humans. I exorcise demons for their sake."

Walking closer to them, Kuroko bends down and pets the demon's black fur. "I can see you as well," he says to the demon with such a soft gaze on his face that it melts away the overpowering aura from before. "So why don't we play together?"

To Kise's shock, the demon actually rises from squashing him and goes to Kuroko's side with its tails wagging happily when Kuroko pets it before starting to play with it using the beach ball. _It really went away! And it's actually playing with Kuroko-san!_

He only breaks out of his gawking when his lightheadedness suddenly vanished and he feels very refreshed and healthy. "Wait, I don't feel like puking anymore or more like I feel great! Amazing…! It wouldn't let go no matter how much I punched, slapped or kicked it but just a few words from Kuroko-san and it followed him."

He jumps in surprise when Kuroko calls him. "Does Kise-kun have any ideas as to why he possessed you?" Kuroko asks while bouncing the ball to the floor with the demon catching it with its humongous size. "That despite your harsh treatments towards him, he still clung onto you?"

"I…Isn't it because I stepped on it last week and hated me so now it wants to kill me?"

Running towards the ball, Kuroko contradicts him. "If it really wanted to kill someone, he can do so easily and Kise-kun would already be dead."

"So, why then?"

Kuroko picks up the ball and holds it for a moment before turning around to face him with the demon between them, snuggling onto Kuroko, who gently caresses its head. "I've met a few demons like this one before. Animals that were kept by people that became demons after they died."

Kise tips his head to the side. "When you say animals, like a dog?"

Staring the huge demon he's petting, Kuroko nods his head. "That is a possibility. This demon seems to act and behave like a dog so Kise-kun's conjecture is highly likely," he supposes. "Anyhow, animals like this one still wag their tails or performs tricks even after they died. But then eventually, they would realize that no one is looking at them anymore."

Wrapping an arm to the demon, Kuroko leans forward as he closes his eyes while comforting the demon which it seems to like as it cuddles against Kuroko, too. "Most people in this world can't see demons so while they are here they feel very lonely. As a result, when he met someone who didn't ignore him… he was really happy. Determined to never be alone again, he desperately clung to you."

Kuroko's words resonate into Kise. He and the demon's circumstances are different but they're essentially the same. After all, he has intimate knowledge to what loneliness feels like. The demon is lonely because no one can see it while ever since he was a kid he's in the spotlight with everyone watching him but in spite of it all he still feels isolated. The adults want him to do this or that, coercing responsibilities to his small shoulders while his peers either admire him for superficial reasons or secretly envy and hate him.

He doesn't even have anyone that he can even call a real friend. He's pathetic like that so he gave up and pretends to be someone everyone expects him to be. At the very least, there are still his parents and sisters who support him and that curb his solitude sometimes. But this demon is unlike him, even after what Kise did to him it still stuck onto him. It's a pretty strong-minded demon and nothing like him who is actually just a coward.

Really, never once in his life did he imagine that he would feel solidarity to a demon but here it is. How would he know that that was the demon wanted? It's creepy, hairy, keeps getting bigger and he was scared because he started getting sick. It's not human but it felt human emotions too like joy and sadness.

It's like he's doing what those other people do to him. He didn't try to see or know it better. He kept pushing it away because of it's unnatural existence. But, now…

"Kuroko-san," Kise starts as he looks at the exorcists resolutely. "Is there something I can do for him?"

A bemused stare is all he gets from Kuroko but Kise caught a miniscule smile appearing on his face before Kuroko covers it with the sleeve of his kimono. Hurriedly catching the beach ball Kuroko threw him, Kuroko speaks. "Let's play Kise-kun."

"Eh?!" Kise looks at Kuroko in bewilderment. "Play with the beach ball? Can't I do anything else?"

"Please don't ask the impossible," Kuroko deadpans, his face back to its usual poker expression. "Kise-kun can't even touch him without getting sick."

 _Argh, that's true_. Kise doesn't want to admit but it's the truth.

"In any case, I simply need to return him back to the "underworld" where he and other demons belong. That is exactly what 'exorcising' something means," Kuroko elaborates while continuing to stroke the demon's soft fur. "But he's a little big for an exorcism so to make him smaller we have to give him what he wants."

Kise almost asks what it wants but doesn't get the chance to when the demon shuffles closer to him and scratches the beach ball in his hand. Looking between the demon and ball, he guesses. "Do you want to play?" He almost let out a laugh when it wags its three tails and nuzzles the ball on his hand. "Let's go play, fuzzy!"

Tossing the ball in the air, he practically leaps back when fuzzy jumps to catch the ball in the air that even Kuroko blinks in disbelief. He then laughs and kept playing with fuzzy and Kuroko, who at times admonished him (or just give him this _look_ with his empty eyes) when he tossed the ball too high or hard and hit him instead. They kept playing and playing until the bright cloudless blue sky gradually paints in hues of orange, yellow and red and the sun setting in the horizon.

Kise wipes the sweat on his forehead as he looks down at the satisfied and now shrunk fuzzy drape on the beach ball and he can't help smiling at the sight. "Is this small enough for exorcism Kuro— Eh, Kuroko-san!?" he stops when he sees a pale and exhausted Kuroko lying face down on the floor looking like the dead. He runs towards him and bends down to inspect if he's still alive. "Kuroko-san! Are you okay?"

Fuzzy seems to be worried as well as he scrambles to Kuroko's side. Kuroko weakly pats fuzzy on the head before rolling over and opens his eyes. "I'm alright, just a little tired."

"Eh, really? I don't feel tired at all though."

"That's because you're a monster Kise-kun," Kuroko coolly retorts, paying no attention to Kise's _so mean_. "And we've been playing for four hours. Anyone will get tired after that."

He almost sweatdrops when he heard Kuroko's reasoning. "Um, Kuroko-san we were only throwing and catching the ball. Fuzzy, here, was the one jumping around the whole time and look he's still energetic. Just how weak is your stamina Kuroko-san?"

"Shut up, Kise-kun," is all Kise gets. "And he's a demon. Apparently just like Kise-kun."

"Hey!"

Letting Kuroko have his rest, Kise picks up fuzzy from Kuroko and lets the demon dash around the rooftop (and thankfully snags him in time before fuzzy can jump over the fence) or run circle around him and Kuroko or all over Kise's body, tickling him and making him laugh. While throwing the much smaller fuzzy in the air and catching him, Kise notices something shocking.

Holding fuzzy, he looks closer at the black fur demon but more particularly its eyes. For some reason, fuzzy's eyes seem very, _very_ familiar to him. He's pretty sure he's seen this eyes somewhere before. Color blue like the clear sky, pure gaze and—

 _Wait, just a sec. Isn't this—_

Trembling, Kise glances down at the sleeping Kuroko, who senses his stare and opens his eyes which only made Kise gasp (and just about drops fuzzy). He looks at fuzzy's more narrow eyes again and then back to Kuroko's doe-like ones. There's no mistaking it. "Kuroko-san and fuzzy have the same eyes!" he exclaims.

"Did the beach ball hit Kise-kun's head that hard?" is Kuroko's only reaction as he gets up from the floor, dusting off the dirt on his kimono.

"No! Here, look at fuzzy closely." Kise almost hurl the demon onto Kuroko's face. "Do you see? Do you see?"

Taking fuzzy off Kise's hands, Kuroko then proceeds to jab Kise on the ribs and ignores his wails. But he did take a closer look at fuzzy and its eyes. "Ah, they really are similar to mine."

Kise appears to instantly recover from Kuroko's attack. "Right!? Since it looks like Kuroko-san we should name him Tetsuya #2. Nigou, for short!"

A withering stare from Kuroko freezes Kise on his spot. "Why does Kise-kun have to name him? He's going back to the underworld. Kise-kun probably won't see him again. Giving him a name is a moot point."

"But you said it before Kuroko-san, fuzzy—I mean, Nigou is like a dog and dogs like to be named," Kise reasons out and points at the purring Nigou in Kuroko's arms. "See, even Nigou likes it! Kuroko-san said that demons have feelings too and I'm sure Nigou would like it if he has a name, that there are people here in our world that remembers him."

Nigou jumps from Kuroko's arms and to his shoulders rubbing against his face. "All right," Kuroko sighs in defeat, "…Nigou."

"Yay!" Kise holds out a hand to the smiling Nigou which the demon seems to understand and gives him a high five with its cute tiny foot. He pats it on the head. "Nigou is so smart!"

"With that done, can we exorcise Nigou now? It's getting dark already."

"Ah, yes!" With Nigou placed in Kise's arms, he can only observe in confusion as Kuroko walk towards the wall. "What are you going to do Kuroko-san?"

Kuroko doesn't give him an answer and instead presses a hand to the wall while saying, "Mononokean Master Kuroko Tetsuya requesting a portal to the Underworld."

Kise might or might not squeezed Nigou too tight when a thick mist surrounds them and around the rooftop before an enormous red door with two kitsune staring at each other engraved on it suddenly appeared. "Wow, Kuroko-san is incredible! A door appeared!"

The mists clear when Kuroko turns towards them and slides the door open. "This is the entrance to the Underworld."

Kise narrows his eyes as he inspects the inside of the door which is just kinda like a dark tunnel of sorts. "It's looks ominous. Is it safe to go there? It's so dark and scary. Nigou might get lost or worse get eaten by a big demon!"

"It's more habitable inside for demons and Nigou won't get eaten since demons don't eat each other," Kuroko responds. "Nigou will be fine. Moreover, he will have more friends there."

"Oh, right," Kise mutters as he gazes down at Nigou. He doesn't know why but he feels hesitant in letting Nigou now. Ironic, considering it's what he's been wishing for since last week. Moving towards Kuroko and the door, he squats down to put Nigou on the ground and rubs its head, petting him. "Sorry for having the wrong idea about you. Also, I'm sorry for hitting and kicking you. Actually, I'm glad I met Nigou."

Nigou wags its three mini tails and burrows onto Kise's leg. It feels like something squeezed his heart at the adorable and heart-warming sight and hugs Nigou tightly to him. "So cute! Don't go Nigou!"

A hard chop on the head stops Kise's crying and looks up at Kuroko, who has a very menacing glint in his still blank eyes. "Let go of Nigou. He needs to go back to the Underworld," he succinctly orders before Kise can get an edgewise.

As much as it hurts to say goodbye, Kuroko is right. Nigou belongs to the Underworld. So for one last time, Kise nuzzles his face to Nigou's soft fluffy black fur.

 _Thank you._

Pausing, he looks up at Kuroko. "Did Kuroko-san thank me?"

Cocking one eyebrow, Kuroko answers. "No, I did not. Why would I thank Kise-kun? I have nothing to be grateful for."

"So cruel, Kuroko-san!"

Kise quickly glances down when Nigou jumps out of his arms and heads for Kuroko. The exorcist has a serene smile on his face as he stoops down and pets Nigou. "Nigou is quite the conscientious demon," he whispers although Kise can still hear him. "Nigou doesn't need to thank me. I'm glad to have met Nigou, too. No need to worry, Nigou will have friends in there. Go on now."

Nigou slightly nods his head to Kuroko before scuttling to the door and faces them. "Take care, Nigou," Kise says, trying to hide his sniffles while Kuroko waves at Nigou. The demon gives them a sweet smile and it's the last thing Kise sees as Kuroko slides the door closed, disappearing at once and the little mists enveloping them easily dissipate.

Sighing, Kise slides down on the floor with his back to the wall. He feels tired all of sudden and vacantly observes Kuroko, who's sitting near him and deflating the beach ball. "Kuroko-san," he starts and before he can think about it, he bows his head to the exorcist. "I apologize for doubting you! Saying you couldn't exorcise Nigou or that you were mocking me."

"Oh, that? It's fine. I'm used to it."

Kuroko's answer is so nonchalant that Kise swiftly looks up and finds the exorcist appearing indifferent. There must be some kind of story in there somewhere but he knows he won't get anything if he asked.

"And please stop calling me with a –san," Kuroko says. "Kise-kun and I are in the same age. Kise-kun doesn't need to be so formal."

Blinking in surprise, he points at Kuroko. "Wait, you're 16 like me?!"

"Yes, I am," Kuroko nods his head.

Eyeing the exorcist in the corner of his eye, Kise still can't believe that they're the same age. Unlike him, Kuroko is mature and seems to have a good understanding of the world. But this is the first time, he met someone like him. Maybe they could be friends?

That reminds him, Kise still has another important thing to do. "Kurokocchi, thank you very much for helping me and for exorcising Nigou, too. When you explained Nigou's situation it reminded me of myself and that I'm doing what I hated to someone similar to me. I needed that wake-up call so thank you again."

"Kurokocchi?" Kuroko repeats, tilting his head in confusion. (And Kise has to secretly concede that Kuroko looks kinda cute that time.)

Kise lets out a wide grin. "I add –cchi to the people I respect and like."

"Please stop it." Hiding the flattened beach ball in the sleeve of his kimono, Kuroko turns to him. "And Kise-kun doesn't need to thank me. I was just doing my job."

"Don't be so humble Kurokocchi!"

"I'm not," Kuroko denies and holds out a hand, palm outward to Kise. "I don't need a thank you. Please pay up, Kise-kun. That will be a million."

That quickly makes Kise's body stiffen. "Eh? O-One million! That's too expensive! I'm just a high school student—Wait, I'm also model! But I can't pay you right now. I need to accept a few jobs first before I can round up a million yen."

"It seems Kise-kun is misunderstanding something. I want it in the Underworld's currency. I want one million 'en'." Kuroko takes out a couple of 10,000 bills, showing it to Kise and instead of people, the bills are embossed with kitsune somewhat alike the door to the Underworld that Kuroko summoned a while ago.

"I don't have that kind of money! Where will I get that anyway?!"

Getting to his feet, Kuroko only sighs quietly. "I expected as much so I came up with a solution. Starting tomorrow, Kise-kun will be working for me as a part-time employee. Kise-kun will work off his debt."

"Huh?!" Kise yells out his objection as he hastily stands up. "Even if it's Kurokocchi, I can't work with you! Kurokocchi can't just decide that! And I said it before, I'm a model. I already have a demanding part-time job!"

Unfazed at his outburst, Kuroko calmly regards him with his blank yet intrusive sky blue eyes. "I see. Then, I can just send a very nasty demon to collect your debt."

Kise can only stare despairingly and gloomily at the devious and cunning exorcist. _Wait, did he just… trick me?!_

"Kurokocchi!"

"Shut up, Kise-kun."

Kise Ryouta. First year in Teikou High School. A popular model. Now currently a part-time employee of the Mononokean helping its Master—Kuroko Tetsuya. And now his life full of demons and debt has finally begun.

* * *

 **A/N:** Aside from the premise and 1st chapter, this fic will deviate from the manga since I can't exactly follow the manga or else this fic would last for years (depending how long FnM is). There are still some facts, scenes, etc. from the manga that will be included but most of the fic will be original. I also don't know if I'm going to include the legislator, judicial and administrator here or just come up with my own government for the underworld. But we'll see...

Also, this story is gen so no pairings but it's still up to readers' interpretation whether the charas interaction/friendship are platonic or borderline romantic. But like I said, no romance I wanna stick to a friendship fic this time.

See you next chapter!


End file.
